Previews

Tony Hawk's Underground

Spiffy:

More freedom and an entertaining story complement the best trick system in gaming.

Iffy:

Once again the GCN and Xbox versions get the short end of the features stick.

"This is the game Neversoft always wanted to make," offers Activision representative Ryh-Ming Poon as the demo of Tony Hawk's Underground for the PS2 concludes. I believe her. The game may branch off in a new direction for the series, but it captures all of the things it's always been known for -- and it seems to capture the soul of skate culture as well. The increased freedom lets Neversoft immerse THUG in the personality that's always been peeking through in every previous THPS game, and the addition of a narrative lets them show off the pros in a whole new way. THUG is the biggest, coolest, weirdest, and funniest game in the series yet.

In THUG, you don't play as the pros -- although you can, if you skip the story mode. You play as yourself, and you start your very own skating career in, well, a thuggy part of scenic New Jersey. Through a serious of wacky events, you try and propel yourself to the big time. On the PS2 you can even put your own face in the game. Snap a pic and e-mail it to Neversoft; they'll reply with a code which you can use to go online and grab the face from their servers. Apply it to the skater and start your own THUG story, on one of four difficulty levels, each with its own rewards.

Once you get your face downloaded, modify the color and hue to make the skin tone match your own, and even subtly shift the shape of the character's face and body to suit your build. If you can't get a pic of your face to Neversoft (or you're playing on Xbox or GameCube), you'll have to be satisfied with the create-a-skater facial options, which are still pretty intensely varied. Of course, from there you pick your outfit and head into the story. Your create-a-skater model is used in all the game cutscenes, so you never have to worry about falling out of your own narrative.

The tone of the story is irreverent and funny. At first the game just uses the story as an excuse to get you acclimated to the world of THUG -- one where you can get off your skateboard or drive a car for the first time in a Tony Hawk game. You'll be introduced to all the new tricks via whacked-out events like walking a car-modding gang member's dog or collecting pieces of your best friend's skateboard that was destroyed by the local drug dealers.

From there you're introduced to your first pro, Chad Muska, who's in New Jersey to give a skate demo. Impress him and you can move forward with your career. Chad's real voice and personality are in the game; he drives a car not unlike the SUV he has in the game, and his trademark style is all over the scenes in which he appears. Neversoft has built a great relationship with the pros over the years, so expect cameos like this to get you all quivery in the belly if you're a big skate fan.

The path to fame laid out by Combo Chris.

The story mode is broken up into chapters -- once you catch Muska's eye, you can work towards shooting your own skate video. If your video is hot, you can make the move toward getting sponsored -- you'll follow the same sort of path that real skaters have to when they launch their careers. The cool thing is that the game is injected with that sense of humor that you always knew was in the THPS games but never got the chance it deserved to come to the fore.

While the game isn't one big world, ala Vice City, it's got a more realistic approach than previous THPS games with their discreet levels. You'll travel from city to city over the course of your story/career, and each place is an excellently arranged mega skate park bigger than any you've seen in the previous Tony Hawk games.